Helicopter helps police nab Livermore theft suspects

Wednesday

Jan 29, 2014 at 4:11 PMJan 29, 2014 at 4:14 PM

STOCKTON – A California Highway Patrol helicopter circled over Stockton for more than an hour Tuesday night while officers on the ground searched for three people who committed grand theft earlier in the evening in Livermore, authorities said.

The Record

STOCKTON – A California Highway Patrol helicopter circled over Stockton for more than an hour Tuesday night while officers on the ground searched for three people who committed grand theft earlier in the evening in Livermore, authorities said.

CHP officers attempted to stop a 2006 Dodge Charger about 7:30 p.m. near March Lane and Interstate 5, officials said. The Charger matched the description of a vehicle used in a robbery about an hour earlier in Livermore, where thieves stole several thousand dollars worth of merchandise from a high-end department store, authorities said.

The Charger stopped in a Jack In The Box parking lot but then fled at high speeds, officers said. During the pursuit, three people got out of the vehicle and fled on foot, officials said.

A CHP helicopter helped CHP and Stockton police officers locate one suspect who was hiding in the water along the north canal bank south of Brookside Road, authorities said. Richard Tafoya, 27, was arrested on suspicion of grand theft and conspiracy, police said. Two other suspects escaped, but authorities have identified them, officers said.

Livermore police officers responded to the scene and impounded the Charger, officials said. Inside, they found more than $6,000 worth of stolen merchandise, police said.